[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 144 (Monday, December 1, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1674]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING THE HALLIE Q. BROWN COMMUNITY CENTER'S 85TH ANNIVERSARY

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                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 1, 2014

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the volunteers, 
staff and patrons of the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, past and 
present, on the occasion of its 85th anniversary. Since this agency was 
founded in 1929, it has served as a shining example of leadership and 
progressive commitment to advancing the quality of life for residents 
of Saint Paul, Minnesota's Summit-University neighborhood.
  African Americans in Minnesota's capital city faced growing social 
challenges in 1929, leading the Saint Paul Urban League to formulate 
plans for a new community center. The center's first Executive 
Director, Miss I. Myrtle Carden, chose to name the newly formed center 
after Hallie Quinn Brown, honoring her work as a prominent suffragette, 
African American educator, author and elocutionist. The community 
center has been thriving ever since.
  After its relocation to the Martin Luther King Center in 1972, the 
Hallie Q. Brown Community Center has evolved to encompass other 
organizations and programs, including the nationally recognized 
Penumbra Theatre Company. The Hallie Q. Brown Center is designed to 
provide a wide range of services that reflect the diversity of the 
community. Providing access to critical human services, fostering 
personal growth, and developing community leadership is the ongoing 
work of Early Childhood Education, Youth Out of School Time, Multi-
Service Hub Center Administration, and the Emergency Food Shelf and 
Clothing Closet among many other programs at the center.
  Mr. Speaker, 85 years of supporting the community at the Hallie Q. 
Brown Center deserves to be commended. Employees, volunteers and donors 
to the center have made valuable contributions of time, talent and 
resources that have made a difference in the lives of so many in this 
community. Please join me in rising to honor the 85th anniversary of 
the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center.

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